6 replies to this topic

[LauraL]

Hi all,

I'm newly diagnosed, and have been taking Nuvigil for about two weeks--150mg for the first week, and 250mg for the second. I feel awake for the first time in months! But, I have definitely noted some side effects: anxiety (I'm having trouble falling asleep at night, and I've been irritable, which isn't really like me), loss of appetite (during the weekend when my days were unstructured, I realized I was forgetting to eat), and dry mouth.

As I said, it's only been a few weeks, so I'm going to hang in there and see if these side effects lessen--and anyway, I find the side effects more tolerable than sleeping through the day--but I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced these side effects? Did they eventually go away for you?

Thanks for any insight!

L

[Fluffybunny5000]

Hi all,

I'm newly diagnosed, and have been taking Nuvigil for about two weeks--150mg for the first week, and 250mg for the second. I feel awake for the first time in months! But, I have definitely noted some side effects: anxiety (I'm having trouble falling asleep at night, and I've been irritable, which isn't really like me), loss of appetite (during the weekend when my days were unstructured, I realized I was forgetting to eat), and dry mouth.

As I said, it's only been a few weeks, so I'm going to hang in there and see if these side effects lessen--and anyway, I find the side effects more tolerable than sleeping through the day--but I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced these side effects? Did they eventually go away for you?

Thanks for any insight!

L

Same side effects here. They dont change, they havent gotten any better for me atleast. I've lost 68lbs since October of 2011, gone down 10 sizes, i barely eat anything because it makes me nausous. I stay up[ at night alllllllllllllllllllll the time i can never sleep. and dry mouth as well. But ya just got to work through them. None of the medications we take for N dont come with some "MF side effects! " But be thankful were not talking about anal leakage here!

[LauraL]

Same side effects here. They dont change, they havent gotten any better for me atleast. I've lost 68lbs since October of 2011, gone down 10 sizes, i barely eat anything because it makes me nausous. I stay up[ at night alllllllllllllllllllll the time i can never sleep. and dry mouth as well. But ya just got to work through them. None of the medications we take for N dont come with some "MF side effects! " But be thankful were not talking about anal leakage here!

Thank you so much for your response. I laughed so hard! Which is really good (I've been kind of down about all this stuff today) I needed that!! I need to remember that line for when things get rough!

Guess I'll hold off on buying the summer wardrobe!

The good news is, I feel like I have my brain back. I think that's going to come in handy at work!

[Fluffybunny5000]

We have good days and bad days.. just learn to recognize what is going on... understand why its happening and document if it becomes a problem!

[mia]

I was on provigil twice a day but it only lasted for about three hours and sometimes the second dose wouldn't work at all so I was switched to Nuvigil. It made me feel like my heart was racing and same as you didn't sleep until about one or two in the morning. I just told my doctor I was not taking it anymore. We will see what she recommends from here.

[tjunderw]

The unfortunate part of N is that everyone has a different experience and different reactions to medications, as I've certainly learned reading around here! But your side effects are very common. I have been on Nuvigil since April as well and have migrains, dry mouth, periods of insomnia/fragmented sleep, and lost 18 pounds in 2 weeks. You posted this awhile ago, have things changed for you-better or worse? I make it a point to always have water with me which I think has helped with the dry mouth a bit, could be something to keep in mind. On weekends or more unscheduled days I too will look at the clock and realize whoops, it's 2 pm and I haven't had breakfast yet...but the more active I am with maintaining a schedule the better I seem to feel. With my decreased appetite I find I'll wait or forget to eat, then end up feeling sick or have a headache which then just sort of adds to my existing sleepiness. I try to have small meals or snack all day to keep my energy up and avoid the hunger pangs that come on quickly when I forget to eat. And as for problems sleeping, my troubles falling asleep have gotten a little bit better as I've gotten used to the meds but by this point my sleep is so different each night I have learned to just roll with it. Hope you have had a good experience since your post!!

[LauraL]

The unfortunate part of N is that everyone has a different experience and different reactions to medications, as I've certainly learned reading around here! But your side effects are very common. I have been on Nuvigil since April as well and have migrains, dry mouth, periods of insomnia/fragmented sleep, and lost 18 pounds in 2 weeks. You posted this awhile ago, have things changed for you-better or worse? I make it a point to always have water with me which I think has helped with the dry mouth a bit, could be something to keep in mind. On weekends or more unscheduled days I too will look at the clock and realize whoops, it's 2 pm and I haven't had breakfast yet...but the more active I am with maintaining a schedule the better I seem to feel. With my decreased appetite I find I'll wait or forget to eat, then end up feeling sick or have a headache which then just sort of adds to my existing sleepiness. I try to have small meals or snack all day to keep my energy up and avoid the hunger pangs that come on quickly when I forget to eat. And as for problems sleeping, my troubles falling asleep have gotten a little bit better as I've gotten used to the meds but by this point my sleep is so different each night I have learned to just roll with it. Hope you have had a good experience since your post!!

Thank you for your responses! Yes, the side effects are much better. I no longer notice them, really. Either they have just gone away (like the difficulty sleeping at night and the jitteriness), or I've learned to compensate (I drink a lot of water, always carry a water bottle, stopped wearing contact lenses b/c my eyes were dry). Unfortunately, the Nuvigil no longer seems to be cutting it as far as keeping me awake. I saw my doctor this week, and she switched my antidepressant from celexa (which causes drowsiness) to cymbalta (which shouldn't cause drowsiness as much). I hope that will help. If that doesn't do the trick, then she wants me to switch from Nuvigil to Adderall. She wrote me a script, but told me not to fill it for a few weeks, to give my body time to adjust to cymbalta and see if that's working. We'll see...